1) Toss Up - Math - Short Answer
ABC is a triangle and points D, E, F lie on BC, AC, AB, respectively. If AF/FB = CE/EA = 1, then what is the ratio of the area of triangle DEF to the area of triangle ABC?
ANSWER: 1/41) Bonus - Math - Short Answer
Find the area of a triangle in which two of the sides have lengths 4 and 6 and the angle between them is 30 degrees.
ANSWER: 62) Toss Up - General Science - Short Answer
In Africa it is estimated that about 200 million people are infected with what water-borne parasitic disease known as Bilharzia?
ANSWER: SHISTOSOMIASIS2) Bonus - General Science - Multiple Choice
A steroid will dissolve BEST in which of the following:
W) acetone
X) 50% ethanol
Y) 95% ethanol
Z) distilled water
3) Toss Up - Physics - Multiple Choice
An object starts from rest above the ground and falls 5 meters in a gravitational field of 10 N/kg. How fast is the object moving?
W) 0
X) 10 meters per second
Y) 50 meters per second
Z) 100 meters per second
3) Bonus - Physics - Short Answer
An object with mass M is pulled down toward the Earth with a force of Mg. If S is the mass of the Earth, with what force does the mass M pull the Earth with?
ANSWER: MG4) Toss Up - Physics - Multiple Choice
What is the wave number, in reciprocal meters, of a wave that is traveling at 100 meters per second with a frequency of 20 Hertz?
W) 0
X) 0.2
Y) 1
Z) 5
4) Bonus - Physics - Multiple Choice
Light coming from a vacuum enters a medium of refractive index 2. Its wavelength
W) quarters
X) halves
Y) doubles
Z) quadruples
5) Toss Up - Chemistry - Multiple Choice
According to the Arrhenius theory, an Arrhenius acid is any substance that does which of the following in a chemical reaction:
W) donates a pair of electrons
X) accepts a pair of electrons
Y) produces H+ ions in aqueous solution
Z) produces OH- ions in aqueous solution
5) Bonus - Chemistry - Short Answer
If you were to evaporate 1 liter or kilogram of water, how many calories of latent heat are stored in the vapor?
ANSWER: 540,000 (ACCEPT: 5.4 x 10^5) (Solution: lat heatvap = 540cal/g)6) Toss Up - Astronomy - Short Answer
Order the following 3 stages from the EARLIEST to the LATEST in the evolution of a G-type star of 2 solar masses: red giant; T-tauri; white dwarf
ANSWER: T-TAURI; RED GIANT; WHITE DWARF6) Bonus - Astronomy - Short Answer
If a star has a surface temperature of 3,000 degrees kelvin, a core temperature of 100 million Kelvin, and a luminosity of 2,000-times our Sun, choosing from upper right, upper left, lower left, and lower right, where on an H-R diagram would it most likely be found?
ANSWER: UPPER RIGHT (Solution: this describes a red giant)7) Toss Up - Physics - Multiple Choice
Which of the following sets of particles can be the result of a muon's decay?
W) quark, anti-quark, and electron
X) quark, anti-quark, and muon antineutrino
Y) tau, tau antineutrino, muon neutrino
Z) electron, electron antineutrino, muon neutrino
7) Bonus - Physics - Short Answer
Heisenburg's Uncertainty Principle can be restated so that rather than referring to position and momentum, it refers instead to time and what other quantity?
ANSWER: ENERGY8) Toss Up - Biology - Multiple Choice
Which of the following does NOT occur in mitosis:
W) DNA synthesis
X) sets of sister chromatids line up singly
Y) sister chromatids separate as the centromere divides
Z) kinetochores (Pron: kin-et-oh-kors) divide
8) Bonus - Biology - Short Answer
A lack of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain of humans causes what disease:
ANSWER: PARKINSON’S9) Toss Up - Biology - Multiple Choice
The great adaptive radiation of the reptiles took place during the
W) Triassic Period.
X) Cretaceous Period.
Y) Permian Period.
Z) Jurassic Period.
9) Bonus - Biology - Short Answer
In plants, the external group of tissues, from the cambium outward, of a woody stem or root is known as what?
ANSWER: bark10) Toss Up - Physics - Multiple Choice
Which of the following is NOT necessarily conserved in every instance?
W) energy
X) angular momentum
Y) number of hadrons
Z) all of the above are conserved
10) Bonus - Physics - Short Answer
What is the approximate wavelength of an electron moving at 10^7 meters per second? Give your answer in terms of a power of ten in meters. The mass of an electron is 9.11 * 10^-31 kg and Planck's constant is 6.63 * 10^-34.
ANSWER: 10^-1011) Toss Up - Earth Science - Multiple Choice
Which of the following is not an example of a concordant rock mass?
W) Lopolith
X) Sill
Y) Laccolith
Z) Dike
11) Bonus - Earth Science - Short Answer
What is the name given to the term that defines the proportion of the incident solar radiation which is diffusely reflected from the atmosphere and surface of the planet back into outer space?
ANSWER: albedo12) Toss Up - Physics - Multiple Choice
What is the process by which nuclear fission produces energy?
W) Combining lighter nuclei into heavier nuclei
X) Increasing the number of protons a nucleus contains
Y) Changing an electron's spin state following excitation
Z) Splitting heavier nuclei into lighter nuclei
12) Bonus - Physics - Multiple Choice
Which of the following is NOT a challenge in using nuclear fusion as a controlled generator of power?
W) The fuels needed for fusion reactions are expensive and difficult to find
X) Containing the reaction once it has started is difficult
Y) Materials used to contain fusion reactions are affected by the high radiation levels
Z) Extremely high temperatures are needed to start the reaction
13) Toss Up - Physics - Multiple Choice
When an airplane’s ailerons move in opposite directions they usually cause a plane to:
W) pitch
X) yaw
Y) roll
Z) stall
13) Bonus - Physics - Short Answer
In pursuit of an insect, a lizard, braced against a rock, accelerates with a horizontal magnitude of 15 meters per second squared. How much horizontal force, in newtons, must the lizard exert on the rock to produce this acceleration if it weighs 3 kilograms?
ANSWER: 45 NEWTONS (ACCEPT: 45) (Solution: F=MA; F=3x15; F=45)14) Toss Up - Biology - Multiple Choice
The clavicles are the bones commonly referred to as:
W) the shoulder blades
X) the shin bones
Y) the collar bones
Z) none of the above
14) Bonus - Biology - Multiple Choice
By grinding and partially digesting incredible amounts of soil, earthworms speed the return to plants of
W) nitrogen
X) carbon dioxide
Y) oxygen
Z) hydrogen
15) Toss Up - Energy - Short Answer
What is the name for the practice of reducing or shifting electricity usage during peak periods in response to time-based rates or other forms of financial incentives?
ANSWER: DEMAND RESPONSE (ACCEPT: DYNAMIC DEMAND)15) Bonus - Energy - Multiple Choice
At 100 volts, which of the following is closest to the amperage through a circuit that consists of the following in series: resistors of 10 ohms, 15 ohms, and 22 ohms followed by these resistors in parallel: 5, 10, 20, all in the same circuit.
W) 1.5
X) 2.0
Y) 2.5
Z) 5.5
16) Toss Up - Biology - Multiple Choice
Which of the following is NOT an example of the negative effects of bioaccumulation of toxins in the environment?
W) The thinning of bird eggshells due to DDT
X) Inedibility of oysters due to their filter feeding on naturally occurring red tide algae
Y) Birth defects in babies exposed to Accutane in utero
Z) Inedibility of fish due to mercury content
16) Bonus - Biology - Multiple Choice
If a deer population exceeds its carrying capacity, which of the following will likely happen?
W) The birth rate will increase
X) The death rate will increase
Y) The death rate will decrease
Z) Carrying capacity will increase
17) Toss Up - Physics - Multiple Choice
A solar cell does NOT respond to red light, but DOES respond
to green light. The solar cell will be able to respond to
W) microwaves.
X) infra-red light.
Y) ultraviolet light.
Z) all of the above
17) Bonus - Physics - Short Answer
A 50 millimeter focal length camera lens photographs a 4 meter tall tree at a distance of 20 meters. How tall is the image of the tree?
ANSWER: 10 MILLIMETERS18) Toss Up - Math - Multiple Choice
A point moves so that its distance from the origin is always twice its distance from the point (3,0). Its locus is
W) an ellipse
X) a hyperbola
Y) a circle
Z) a parabola
18) Bonus - Math - Multiple Choice
A parabola has focus (2,4) (read as: parenthesis 2 comma 4 end parenthesis) and directrix y = -2. Its vertex is
W) (2,3)
X) (2,1)
Y) (0,4)
Z) (4,4)
19) Toss Up - Earth And Space - Short Answer
Astronomers were very ecstatic when LIGO announced its discovery of these types of waves on February 11, 2016. What are these special waves called?
ANSWER: GRAVITATIONAL WAVES19) Bonus - Earth And Space - Short Answer
Gravitational waves form when two massive objects orbit each other and distort the fabric of space-time in such a way that waves form. (1) Name an example of objects that are massive enough to cause gravitational waves to form, and (2) who first predicted the existence of these waves?
ANSWER: PULSARS (ACCEPT NEUTRON STARS, BLACK HOLES), EINSTEIN20) Toss Up - Earth Science - Short Answer
Identify a silica-rich, relatively light-colored intrusive rock composed primarily of potassium feldspar, quartz, sodium plagioclase, hornblende, and mica?
ANSWER: GRANITE20) Bonus - Earth Science - Multiple Choice
Which of the following land forms is not associated with
glacial erosion?
W) Cirques
X) Kames
Y) Fjords
Z) Horns
21) Toss Up - Chemistry - Short Answer
Arrange the following 3 choices in order of increasing bond energies: O2; N2; F2
ANSWER: F2; O2; N221) Bonus - Chemistry - Multiple Choice
All elements in a given period of the periodic table have similar:
W) valence-shell electron configuration
X) maximum principal quantum number
Y) atomic radii
Z) atomic number
22) Toss Up - Earth And Space - Multiple Choice
Severe weather events are most commonly associated with which of the following types of weather front?
W) Stationary
X) Occluded
Y) Warm
Z) Cold
22) Bonus - Earth And Space - Short Answer
What is the name for a very coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock, having large crystals that are usually several centimeters in length and forming in the later stages of a magma chamber’s crystallization?
ANSWER: PEGMATITE23) Toss Up - Chemistry - Short Answer
Dr. Ecniecs, who loves riddles, gave the following riddle about the periodic table: Element A is left-right adjacent to element B. Element A never shares what it holds. Element B is always taking from other elements. Both elements are a clear gas. Both elements are nonmetals. Combined, they have a mass less than that of gallium. What are the identities of elements A and B?
ANSWER: NEON AND FLUORINE23) Bonus - Chemistry - Short Answer
Amides are formed through a reversible reaction that causes loss of water. This reaction occurs between an amine [uh-MEEN] and what other type of molecule?
ANSWER: CARBOXYLIC ACID24) Toss Up - Astronomy - Short Answer
Which planet in our solar system has the strongest magnetic field?
ANSWER: JUPITER24) Bonus - Astronomy - Multiple Choice
The Andromeda Galaxy is which of the following types of galaxies:
W) elliptical
X) irregular
Y) spiral
Z) barred spiral
25) Toss Up - Biology - Multiple Choice
Not all viruses
W) are enclosed in a membrane.
X) have a protein coat.
Y) are noncellular.
Z) contain DNA or RNA.
25) Bonus - Biology - Multiple Choice
Botulism attacks the
W) digestive system.
X) reproductive system.
Y) respiratory system.
Z) nervous system.